Broken
by Oneturtledove
Summary: The stillness of the night was finally shattered by sirens, but he was afraid that they hadn't gotten there in time.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own them. Craps.

Spoilers: Not many. I don't know exactly where it fits either, so let your imagination run wild.

A/N: Had this one rattling around in my head for a long time and I finally got the umph to start it.

* * *

"Well, now that we've done laundry together-" Adam started, opening the door of the Laundromat.

"And I know that you wear cartoon boxers-"

"And you promised never to tell anyone that, I suppose this means we have to be friends forever."

Lindsay chuckled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Everyone else was stuck at the lab, and she had three weeks worth of laundry to do. Since Adam was already going, it seemed natural to go together. Stealing some of his quarters had just been a fringe benefit.

"If you buy me ice-cream, then I can guarantee the friends forever thing."

"Done. Let's go drop our laundry off. I don't really wanna carry my underwear all over town."

"Yeah, especially the Yogi Bear ones."

"I think you're forgetting your Strawberry Shortcake bra."

"I'm a girl, I'm allowed to have cute things. But you don't tell anyone you saw my bra."

"Are you kidding? Danny would kill me no matter how innocent the situation."

"Yeah, well, it's not his place."

"Wait, what?" Adam asked as they approached her building.

"What?"

"You two aren't…?"

"Together? No, Adam."

"But we've all seen it. The looks, the twitterpatedness, the being disgusting."

"We're just friends. Maybe in the future there will be something more, but for now, we're just friends."

"Who flirt like crazy."

"That's not flirting."

"He makes you giggle, Lindsay."

"So maybe he does. Leave me alone, Adam."

He chuckled as they boarded the elevator and headed up to her floor. They were an unlikely duo- her the beautiful, intelligent country girl, and him, the bumbling, bachelor lab rat- but they made the friendship work. She was insanely goofy, a major science fiction geek, and she understood the intricacies of just about every video gaming system he'd ever played. There was no attraction between them outside common interests, but they had fun together, and that was all that mattered.

"Hey, after ice-cream we should finish that disc of X-Files we started last week."

"Okay. I don't even remember which episode is next."

"I think we just finished the one in black and white where they danced at the Cher concert."

"Well that sucks because the next episodes are the ones where her daughter dies."

"Her daughter?"

"Adam! You know this story line. The stolen ova. The little girl in California."

"Oh! I forgot about that."

"Bad fan," she muttered, tossing her bag of laundry onto the couch to fold later. He left his by the door and they headed outside again.

"Hey, my interests are more varied, so I don't have as much room in my head."

"Right."

"You'd be lost if I said anything about Stargate."

"That's because Stargate sucks."

"Bite your tongue!"

She laughed and kicked at a rock that was on the sidewalk. Adam chased after it and kicked it further, beginning a race for the rock down the street. They laughed and pushed each other out of the way until Lindsay's renegade kick sent the rock down a storm drain.

"Well crap," Adam muttered.

"Oh well. Ice-cream."

She started across the street, leaving him on the corner looking for another rock to kick.

"Hey, hurry it up Ross," she hollered, turning to walk backwards. "Our ice-cream is gonna melt."

"I need another rock."

"Are you in fifth grade?"

"Yeah, and you have cooties!"

Her laughter floated back across the street at him, but in one second of squealing brakes and a horn, it was gone. Adam's head shot up just in time to see the car make contact with her, sending her flying through the air and coming to rest in the middle of the intersection. His feet pounded against the asphalt as he ran for her, skidding to a halt and crouching down next to her.

"Lindsay!" he shouted, reaching for her pulse. It was weak, but it was there. She was breathing, but barely, and he was vaguely aware of someone calling 911. He stared down at her, willing her eyes to open, just for a second.

"Linds, come on, wake up."

He wanted to gather her in his arms and run for the nearest hospital, but he still had enough wits about him to know what a bad idea that would be. He brushed her hair back from her face, hoping that small action would provide her with some comfort. Her breathing was slowing, and he listened raptly for the ambulance sirens. He kept his finger over her pulse, and once it stopped it took a few seconds to register.

"Don't do this, Linds," he muttered, beginning CPR. The stillness of the night was finally shattered by sirens, but he was afraid that they hadn't gotten there in time.


	2. Chapter 2

Insurance provider?

Next of kin?

Emergency contact?

Allergies?

Previous surgeries?

Regular doctor?

Current medications?

Adam's head swam with the questions that the intake nurse threw at him as he ran next to the gurney, keeping a tight grip on Lindsay's hand. They had refused him entrance to the trauma room and he stood outside the doors, staring in, trying to figure out what they were doing to her. She hadn't woken up, not even when the paramedics had intubated her. He'd demanded to ride along, thankful that she had no ID, so they kind of needed him. But now he stood here not knowing what to do. He was powerless to help her, and he had no idea who to call first. He glanced down at the clipboard in his hands, figuring filling it out was better than nothing. He stood as he wrote, but only managed to get her name written across the top before movement in the room caught his eye.

They were shocking her with the defibrillator, her body jerking with every charge. Once. Twice. Three times. Movement stopped for a moment and Adam could see one of the monitors return to normal. He let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding as the doctors quickly wheeled her out of the room again.

"What's going on? Where are you taking her?"

"Neurology," one of the nurses answered just before the elevator doors closed.

_Neurology. NEUROLOGY._ That never meant something good. He had watched ER enough to know that going up to neurology was code for "get the transplant teams on the phone." He stood there, stark still, not knowing what he was waiting for. Shaken to the core. He looked down at the clipboard again and slowly, methodically, filled out all the information he knew, then walked over to the admit desk and turned it in.

"What floor is neurology on?"

"Eight," the desk clerk responded, not looking up. Adam nodded and went back to the elevator, punching the up button. It seemed like his mind was several steps behind his body and he was moving through molasses.

By the time he reached the eighth floor, he figured that he had better call Mac or Stella to let them know what was going on. Slowly his fingers drummed through his contacts until he came across a name he recognized.

"Bonasera."

"Stell."

"Adam? Are you okay?"

"I… Lindsay… we're at the hospital."

"What? Are you hurt?"

"I'm… Linds got hit. A car. Neurology."

It took a while, but he finally managed to squeak out the name of the hospital and Stella reassured him that they were on their way.

He sat in the quiet waiting room, only getting up once to ask after Lindsay. The nurse refused to release any information to him as he wasn't family. He would have argued with her, but knew that the flashing of badges in a few minutes would get them some answers. Sitting back down in the chair, he stared at the carpet, replaying the scene in his head. Her smile. Her laughter. The car. The lights. Her body flying like a ragdoll, landing like a sack of rocks. The sound of her hitting the ground. Her eyelashes resting on her cheeks, as if she was sleeping. The limpness of her hand. The Velcro ripping as the paramedics put a brace around her neck. The small puddle of blood on the ground where she had lain. Her shoelace coming untied. The tube down her throat. Disappearing into the elevator.

He closed his eyes and tried to stop the memories at her laugh. Tried to imagine them getting ice-cream, watching TV, and her eventually kicking him out of her apartment. They'd joke and tease, she'd punch him a time or two, he'd tackle hug her, she'd hit him on the head with a pillow. She'd text him the next morning, accusing him of eating all her popcorn, and he would write back and call her a pig. Everything would be normal. Happy and fine.

"Adam?"

His head snapped up at the voice.

"Stell."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Where's Lindsay?" Mac asked.

He gestured down the hall.

"Won't tell me anything."

Mac nodded and headed for the desk while Stella sat down next to Adam.

"What happened?"

"We were getting ice-cream. She was walking across the street and a car… she didn't even see it. I should have…she's not… what if…"

"Stop it, Adam."

He fell quiet as Stella's arm wrapped around his shoulders.

"She has some swelling in her brain," Mac said as he came back from the desk and sat down next to them. "It's too early to tell much else though. Did anyone call her parents?"

"No. I couldn't think. I just…"

"That's alright Adam. I'll take care of it."

Mac left them alone again, and Adam sighed, his head in his hands.

"Stell, is this my fault?"

"No, it's not."

"I would feel better if it was."

"Being guilty isn't going to help her."

"Then what is, Stell?"

"I don't know, Adam. I don't know."


	3. Chapter 3

There was a soft beeping noise somewhere next to her left ear and she really wanted it to go away, as it was exacerbating the splitting headache she had. Even with her eyes closed, she could tell there were lights on and she whimpered, wishing to go back to that place she had just been. It was quiet and dark there. She wiggled her toes and tried to remember what was going on. All she could remember is a great desire for ice-cream. Her stomach lurched at the thought and she groaned.

"Linds?"

The quiet voice was accompanied by a warm hand in hers and she slowly opened her eyes.

"Adam?"

"Hey."

"What happened?" she asked, reaching up to shield her eyes from the light. Adam leaned over and dimmed the lights before answering.

"You got hit by a car."

"My head hurts."

"Yeah, it met the pavement pretty hard."

"How long have I been out?"

"Two days. You're going to be okay though."

"What time is it?"

"Midnight."

"Adam, you should be home in bed."

"Maybe. But someone needed to be here when you woke up. We've been taking shifts."

She sighed and closed her eyes for a second wishing away the pain in her head. And her leg. And her stomach.

"I want to go back to sleep," she muttered as Adam's thumb ran over her knuckles.

"Go ahead. Danny's got the next shift, and he's been wanting to see you awake."

"I bet I look a dream."

"You've looked better, but I've looked worse, so I think you're okay here."

She gave him a half smile.

"Mac called your parents."

"Oh great."

"What oh great? I thought you liked them."

"I like them, it's their hovering I hate."

"Well don't go getting hit by cars and you won't have to deal with it."

"Sorry."

"Not your fault."

"Did the guy stop?"

He sighed and turned her hand over in his, tracing over the lines on her palm.

"No. Flack's out for blood. Danny's been running the partial on the license plate and Mac been talking to rental car agencies."

"You guys love me."

"Yeah."

She smiled a little.

"How bad is it?"

"What?"

"Adam."

"You hit your head pretty good, but no lasting damage, except for the high risk of increased nerdiness."

"Lovely."

"Your knee is messed up but the doctor said it's mostly just swelling and you should be back to full mobility in about a week."

"Is that it?"

"Yeah. You sure know how to land."

"Rodeo."

"I'm not even going to touch that one, Linds."

She grimaced.

"My shoulder hurts."

"Yeah, you have a little road rash."

"That's the worst kind of rash."

"I see that your sense of humor is still intact."

"I'm an enigma like that."

He chuckled and squeezed her hand.

"Go back to sleep. Danny will be here in a couple hours and I am sure he could use a dose of witty repartee."

"He was worried," she stated, her voice dropping an octave.

"We all were, but he there was a little more… passion behind his worry."

"Meaning?"

"He may have smacked me a little for it."

"It wasn't your fault."

"He knows. He was just upset. We're okay now. Don't give him any guff over it, okay?"

"I won't."

"Now seriously, go to sleep."

"I can't sleep if you're watching me."

"Can I turn the TV on then?"

"Go for it. Just don't watch some sappy melodrama rerun or I'll pitch you out on your keister."

"I only believe you because you've done it before."

"Wise man," she muttered with a yawn.

"Hey Linds?"

"Yeah?"

"Love you."

"You'd better."

She drifted back into a semi-drug induced sleep, her dreams filled with nothing but blissful darkness. It had been a long time since her sleep was unencumbered by painful images, and the still conscious part of her mind reveled in the feeling.

It was a while later when she was brought back into real wakefulness by two hushed voices.

"Still nothing?"

"No. We think that the partial we got was wrong, and whoever it was switched the plates."

"Great."

"You don't remember anything else about the car?"

"I wish I did. It was dark, I wasn't really paying attention."

"Don't worry about it, Mac is re-interviewing some witnesses in the morning. We might find out more."

"This guy isn't going to be a happy camper once we find him."

"I'll pound his face in."

"You'll do no such thing Danny Messer," Lindsay interjected. "You'll let me pound his face in."

"Hey Montana," he said, sitting down on the bed and brushing her hair back from her face. "How ya feelin'?"

"Pretty mad that I'm stuck in bed, but no worse for the wear."

Adam gave her a wink over Danny's head and slipped from the room.

"You're not just puttin' on a brave face, are you?"

"Maybe a little, but I'm really okay, Danny."

"I've been worried about you."

"I heard."

"Adam's got a big mouth."

"Maybe, but he's got good intentions."

They fell silent, both looking down at their hands.

"So um, Mac says your parents will be here in the morning."

"Yeah, Adam mentioned that."

"Think they're going to freak out and haul you back home and wrap you in pillows and duct tape?"

"Nah, they stopped doing that when I was four."

"I might still do it."

"I'm fine, Danny."

"I know. We weren't sure for a while there. Scared me."

"Sorry. And thanks."

He sighed and played with her hands, being careful of the scrapes and bruises.

"You know Lindsay, I…"

"Yeah, I know."

"You psychic?"

"Nah, just women's intuition."

He gave her a crooked smile, fighting the urge to move closer and wrap her in his arms.

"Danny?"

"Yeah?"

"Me too."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'm not really in a place where I'm ready yet, but it's there."

He nodded and they regarded each other for a while.

"Want to see what's on TV?" she asked after a while.

"Sure. There's bound to be something crappy."

"Exactly what I was thinking," she said as he moved to sit next to her.

"You know Lindsay, maybe we should call a nurse."

"Why?"

"You've been out for two days. You're in pain, I can tell. It might be a good idea for you to get checked out, get some real food in you."

"You're probably right," she muttered with a sigh.

"I'll go find a nurse. You sit tight, okay Montana?"

She nodded as he left the room, then sighed once he was out of ear shot. She really was in pain and even a little dizzy. She was just used to covering it up or putting on a brave face, so she hadn't even really noticed she was doing it. She smiled at the thought of Danny scampering down the hall for a nurse even though they both knew he would rather have just stayed right there next to her. Good man that Messer was.


End file.
